Beverages are a growing part of the restaurant industry, with many successful restaurants and/or chains selling principally beverages, such as coffee, milkshakes, smoothies, or the like. Many manufacturers provide equipment for increasing the quality and consistency of these beverages as well as to assist in shortening the point-of-sale production time required for these beverages. Despite its popularity, tea is lagging behind in its ability to be produced and sold quickly and efficiently. With the exception of water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. The traditional method of making a cup of tea is to place loose tea leaves, either directly or in a tea infuser, into a tea pot or teacup and pour hot water over the leaves. After a few minutes the leaves are usually removed again, either by removing the infuser, or by straining the tea while serving. Still today, this process commonly occurs by the collection and measurement of the appropriate amount of loose-leaf tea by hand. However, due to the time required, tea is often served only in more relaxed environments as its production is not conducive to rapid production.
In an attempt to expedite and/or bring convenience to the process, the tea bag was developed, which contains a pre-determined amount of tea and is used to create a common sized beverage, such as 8 ounces. However, given their method of manufacture, tea bags are a lesser preferred option to fresh tea, as the tea spends quite some time in storage and transit prior to being delivered for use. Furthermore, tea bags do not lend themselves easily to the production of teas of varying quantities, such as 8 ounces, 12 ounces, or a full tea pot. Subsequently, “pods” or “cups” were developed which are used in automated machines; however, these pods suffer from the same problems as using tea bags. Accordingly, the present invention solves a number of these problems as well as other problems present in the dispensing industry, as are illustrated in the descriptions that follow.